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PRINCE RUPERT - The B.C. Skills for Jobs Blueprint is providing Aboriginal learners with opportunities that will prepare them for in-demand jobs, announced Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation John Rustad at the National Aboriginal Business Opportunities Conference.

“We want Aboriginal people to be part of the local, skilled labour force when it comes to filling the million job openings expected by 2022,” said Rustad. “B.C.’s Blueprint includes funding for community-based delivery of training to ensure that Aboriginal people are positioned to take advantage of those job openings.”

This year, $4.4 million will support the Aboriginal Community-Based Delivery Partnerships Program to provide post-secondary education and training to Aboriginal learners in their communities. The program provides support for the community’s needs and priorities - including responding to new economic opportunities and industry requirements for a local skilled labour force. The program will provide recognized credentials or credits that are portable or transferable so learners may enter their chosen field or continue on to further education and training.

“We know B.C.’s need for highly-trained workers will continue to grow, particularly in the areas of skills and technical training, “said Minister of Advanced Education Amrik Virk. “Training partnerships under the Aboriginal Community-based Partnerships programs will help to fill that need.”

The program also delivers on the vision of the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education and Training Policy Framework and Action Plan: that Aboriginal learners succeed in an integrated, relevant and effective British Columbia post-secondary education system that enhances their participation in the social, cultural and economic life of their communities, the province and global society.Training programs include a diverse range of specializations, from skills training for employment in the oil and gas sectors or mining, to eco-tourism, fish and wildlife management and training to teach indigenous languages.

Aboriginal communities and public post-secondary institutions have until midnight May 28, 2014, to submit partnership proposals.B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: Re-engineering Education and Training was launched on April 29, 2014. It outlined a number of shifts to post-secondary education including the Aboriginal Community-Based Delivery Partnerships Program, which supports the Ministry of Advanced Education’s mandate to align training and education to jobs that support the economy.